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Old January 11th, 2010, 09:18 AM
ClaireDutt ClaireDutt is offline
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Question Rescue pup wont chew food (just gulps it)

Hello again.

Well, i have rescued a pup from the humane society. He is a (approx) 3 month old Bluetick Coonhound. He was found on a country road and brought in to the HS. He was there for about 3 weeks. He is a pretty great puppy having learned his name and "sit" in the first few days we've had him. We've had him 1 week and one day, as of today. Here's the problem. He wont chew his food. He is not food aggresive, he'll let me touch him, the food, take the food away and i have been feeding him about half of each meal by hand. Even with the smaller amount given he wont chew it just swallow the mouthful whole. Same with treats. He is pretty grabby with treats and i am working on "gentle" with him, but once he does accept it gently he still just swallows the treat whole. I have no clue how to deal with this ! Help help help ! Thanks !

(trying to add a photo... never done this before...)

Last edited by ClaireDutt; January 11th, 2010 at 09:23 AM.
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Old January 11th, 2010, 10:56 AM
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Bearsmom Bearsmom is offline
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What are you feeding him? When we first rescued Bear (mastiff mix), he would wolf his food as his stupid owner thought that one bowl would do for 8 puppies...thus it was more of a survival thing for them. We broke him of wolfing down his food by buying a much larger chunk type food so that he was forced to chew it.

Congrats on your dog, he's beautiful!
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Old January 11th, 2010, 11:04 AM
ClaireDutt ClaireDutt is offline
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I was thinking that might be part of the problem. Because we have only had him a week he is still on the pet food the humane society was feeding him, which is science diet. At the pet store i bought it from they only had "small chunks" so the pieces are pretty small. I plan on weening him off this type at the end of this bag, so i will look into getting a puppy food with larger pieces. Thanks
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Old January 11th, 2010, 11:37 AM
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Marcha Marcha is offline
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While you're weaning him off it, you could soak the kibble first to make it a mush. It makes it less of a 'sponge' while it's in his tummy too. Our pup was on Science Diet when we got her from the SPCA, and the soaking made it easier for her to digest/stomach, AND easier for her to properly eat. We used hot water to speed up the soaking process, and when it was room temperature and mushy, we'd give it to her.
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Old January 11th, 2010, 12:44 PM
FlamesGirl FlamesGirl is offline
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My bro's pup did the same things when he got him. Puppy was also a rescue dog and I think there is that mentality sometimes of never having enough food or not knowing when it will be taken away and that leads to the gulping. Bro's pup is way better with his food now (after 3 months). Here are some of the things my brother did:

- 2/3 meals a day always so dog starts to learn there will be food and is never so hungry that they think they're starving.
- Hand fed pup for one meal day. A few pieces of kibble at a time which also helped pup learn how to take it gently. If he was too "enthusiastic" about getting a piece, bro would close his hand around the kibble until pup was licking his hand softly.
- Putting his half his kibble in a kong with a little pb (or not) so dog has to work to get the food. Buster cubes, amaze-a-balls etc work well too.
- You can also buy bowls that have little pillars in the bowl so the dog has to eat around it. Or muffin tins work well too - spread the food around in all the little muffin spots so your dog has to move around a bit.

Eventually your little cutie should realize that's he's going to get a few good meals a day and he won't be so quick to gobble (especially if you some of the ideas above). It took a few months for my rescue dog to realize that and for my brother's. My brother's pup is also WAY better about taking treats gently thanks to the hand feeding (before you'd lose your finger up to the knuckle) even without a reminder.

Good luck with your guy! He is tooooo cute!

Edited to add: Even though my brother's pup is better about eating his meals slower, he'll still barely chew treats and on occasion has swallowed a few whole. Just make sure you're careful giving him treats that aren't too big, in case he doesn't chew. Most should digest and have no bad outcome but we're still really careful giving him long chewy treats. Though even with that he's gotten better.
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Old January 11th, 2010, 06:38 PM
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tenderfoot tenderfoot is offline
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You'd be surprised how few dogs really chew their food. People usually don't realize it until their dog throws up and they see all of the whole pieces of kibble being returned to them.

Chewing isn't really an issue. They don't clean their teeth on kibble so there is no benefit there. It does help them to slow the meal down and not gulp air and food together - which some people believe sets them up for bloat.

The ideas you recieved were all good and it might take him a while to slow down. A couple other ideas might help.

1. Put large river rocks in his bowl so that he has to push them around to get at his food. It won't make him chew but it can slow him down.

2. When you offer him a treat - make it a larger biscuit that you can hold in your hand as he learns to use his side teeth to break it off and then he might start getting the idea.

3. Put peanut butter on the bottom on his bowl and sprinkle the kibble on top so he has to lick at it and then use his teeth to get it. The PB might help him keep it in his mouth longer and he might chew.

4. The value of chewing really comes when they chew large, raw bones - this is what cleans their teeth, gives them good nutrition and entertains them for hours. Indroduce them slowly so you don't give him a cranky tummy from all of the rich nutrition, but they are your best bet for giving him quality chewing time.
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